According
to ABSA this week, Mr. Jacques du Toit senior economist, following
the peak in house price growth there had been a declining
trend in house price growth since November 2004. In January
2005 there was a house price growth of 29,6% year on year. The hike
in mortgage advances may also put the Reserve Bank's monetary policy
committee in a very tight position when they meet in April to decide
on whether to cut interest rates.

Did you know that 40% of applications for home loans are turned
down due to problems with the credit history or finance of the buyer?
In this weeks article The Property Game tells us more about
credit scoring and how it works.

Is it time to sell? "A house is the biggest
asset most people will ever own and its important to view
your property as part of your personal financial plan,"
advises Old Mutual Bank marketing manager Rene Roux."

If you have not been to see the Bo-Kaap, you have not seen
South Africa! The "Bo Kaap" or "Cape
Malay Quarter" belongs to the culturally and historically most
interesting parts of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
The Cape Malays have preserved their cultural identity and Muslemic
creed. The old Malay Quarter with its steep and narrow streets,
the plain artisan houses, Mosques and Minarets reaches from the
Buitengracht street up to the Signal Hill. The houses were restored
and colourfully painted. Read more in Focus on

Thinking of painting your home? Make sure that you are in
the right mood when you make changes or you can easily land up with
a black ceiling with white footprints - Have fun

Enjoy!

CyberProp greetings!
The editor

>> Real Estate News

Property boom lifts mortgage advances to record

MORTGAGE advances in SA increased 24,8% year on year in January, the
highest recorded growth recorded since May 1989 when it was 24,9%.

According to data released by the South African Reserve Bank, December
also saw strong growth in mortgage advances with a year-on-year rate of
24,1%...

Up to 40% of applications for home loans are turned down due to problems
with the credit history or finance of the buyer. Your credit score drives
these applications. Today I've included part of an article from an affiliate
of The Property Game, Credit Health, which specialises in helping clients
understand credit scoring and where necessary rectify problems with their
own credit scoring...

>> Cape's housing list is years out of date

The City of Cape Town's waiting list for homes is so out of date the
city does not know whether people on it are dead or alive.

The housing department has not updated its waiting list in the "past
few years".

The list has been a target of criticism in the past few weeks because
long-term residents on it felt their housing needs were being ignored...

>> A tip for investors - if you are in, stay
in - if you are not in, get in!

That is the message we have been giving to all our investors when it
comes to the Kleinmeer development.

The Kleinmeer project began over 2 years ago when Aquacor Property Developers
began planning this new and secure lifestyle village.

For 2 years, homes were designed, gardens, public open spaces & facilities
were integrated into the town planning layout, facilities and homeowners
requirements were researched, security issues were addressed and a harmonious
layout for all of these facets was finalized.

What was not expected, however, was the massive increase in property
prices and development demand close to the city centre during this period.
As Kleinmeers land was bought 2 years ago, this makes it one of
the last affordable places to buy in such close proximity to Cape Town;
and with such an impressive list of facilities the demand will only increase.

>> Time to sell?

With property prices booming in many parts of the country, is it time
to sell your house and enjoy a healthy profit?

"A house is the biggest asset most people will ever own and its
important to view your property as part of your personal financial plan,"
advises Old Mutual Bank marketing manager Rene Roux. "If you are
thinking of selling while prices are high, discuss your plans to sell
with your bank manager or financial adviser to ensure you are not sacrificing
your medium and long-term goals for short-term profits.

>> Focus on Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, Western Cape,
South Africa

The "Bo Kaap" or "Cape Malay Quarter" belongs to
the culturally and historically most interesting parts of Cape Town. Many
of the inhabitants are decendants of the people from Indonesia (Batavia),
Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia, who were captured in the 17th and 18th
century and enslaved by the Dutch-East Indian Trading Company. Many were
Muslims and others were converted to Islam by the Cape Muslim community...

Val Ludgrove Real Estates New Offices After 5 years in Noël
Center we have decided to shed our old feathers and make a move. We are not really moving to a new premises. We are relocating to an
old one. For those of you that have been with us from the beginning will
remember the days when Val worked from her house in 77 Longships Drive.
Well . We will be doing it again! As 77 Longships Drive, Plettenberg
Bay.

If you dont know how to get to us, heres the directions:
make a move.

From the Dolphin circle in town you drive down towards The Beacon Island
Hotel. You will get to second circle which you drive straight over. The
first road that you get on your right hand side is Longships Drive. Keep
straight on that road until you find number 77. Come and visit us. We
look forward to meeting you at our new office!

PLETT AIRPORT FLYING AGAIN FROM MAY New owner of Plett Airport, Willie Malan, is planning a new regional
airline connecting Plett with Johannesburg, Cape Town and the Cape Coast.
Their first aircraft being the Embraer EMB120 Brasilia - a 30-passenger
high-speed plane.

The airline will offer a direct two-hour flight to Johannesburg initially
and thereafter a direct one-hour flight to Cape Town and a short hop service
to George.

They hope to be up and flying within three months.

REVAMPING OF AIRPORTRevamping the airport runway alone will cost more than R20-million.
Construction of a new terminal,
apron area, navigation tower and air traffic controls
will add at least another R50-million to the bill. Once completed the airport
will be upgraded from 4 to 5 status.

HISTORY CONTINUES
Lets see who visit our Bay and how the different names came about:
When Bartholomew Dias spotted Plettenberg Bay in 1488 while exploring
the area to find a sea passage from Europe to the East he saw quite a
few lagoons. Thus the name Bahia das Alagoas meaning the
bay of Lagoons. About 90 years later Manuel da Perestrello renamed
the Bay to Bahia Formosa (the bay Beautiful). Manuel DA Perestrello sailed
on the orders of King Sebastian of Portugal. He could not explore the
bay to its fullest due to our notorious easterly wind that we still
experience today.

In our next edition we will explore what happened to The San Conzales
that sunk in Robberg Bay.

Have you ever wanted to have your bedroom ceiling painted
blue with some fluffy white clouds in it? Perhaps it is because you
spent time as a child looking at the sky and identifying shapes and
forms with a friend or relative. Fond memories often stick in our minds
in the form of color.

White is often used to depict peppermint because white always meant
fresh for as long as we can remember...

>> Be in the frontline

The New Development Module in CyberAgent has been developed
to assist estate agencies to market and sell New Development properties.

This module will enable agencies to add the following information about
each and every development: